You know it! We are back with another “5 Pedal” post. This time we’re taking a look at those pedals we wanted to add to the “5 Pedals You Need On Your Board” article but didn’t have the space to fit them in. These 5 boutique bombshells come from makers all over the world and we would be doing you all a huge injustice if we didn’t mention these wonderful tone-tools and the sounds that can be created with them. So without further adieu, here’s they are…
OKKO Pedals Diablo Dual
Make your amp sizzle. The juice coming out of this overdrive pedal is so audibly tasty its ridiculous. OKKO Pedals are handmade in Germany by people who know what good tone is. I mean come on if you can make good beer, you can obviously make great pedals! Anywhere from transparent overdrive to crunchy saturated goodness, this pedal is perfect as a solo pedal or paired up with all the other favorites on your pedalboard. Looking at the face of the new Diablo Dual you can quickly see that it has come far from its original 5 knob release, the Diablo. Some cool features to mention on this new version; DYN - controls the internal voltage with a sweep from 6volts (squishy, saggy breakup) to 18volts (amp-like, tight, punchy drive), Input Toggle - this provides 3 unique input gain levels to help tailor the unit to your guitar’s output and your playing. Best of all, there are now two independent channels each with their own Drive & Level settings at the tap of your foot. We appreciate it when builders can take input from those playing their gear and then use that info to better the performance of their pedals. Even if your have the original, there is plenty of room on the board for this masterful new release.
Wampler Pedals Reflection
It’s amazing what you can do with just the sound of space. The fact that we can take the response of sound vibrating through space & time and put that effect into a tiny box is pretty dumbfounding. The Wampler Reflection takes two of the most used reverb types of all time, Spring & Plate, and puts them into one simple and concise package making it super easy to dial in an extremely wide array of reverb tones. The Spring is nice 'n splashy and it does that great shiny decay thing that spring reverbs do so well. Just a touch of the pre-delay knob and your initial attack remains tough and intact without getting lost in whatever mix you have going on. The Plate setting provides some sultry mojo that only a plate reverb can do. Cranking the reverb pedal’s Volume and Decay in the Plate mode will get you lost in eternal audio wash, for sure. Hendrix to Gibbons, Escovado to Buckley, Gilmour to Frisell… it’s all in there if you so desire. We’ve always loved the reverb units that have manifested out of the mind of Brian Wampler and the Reflection is yet another solid creation from a this tone genius.
Jackson Audio Prism
So maybe you are to cool for pedals, maybe you just put it all on 10 (except the Bass knob) and use your guitar’s controls, maybe you don’t need a sissy overdrive/distortion pedal. Well, let us introduce you to the Jackson Audio Prism pre-amp pedal. That’s right, it’s not a tube screamer or a distortion box. It’s like turning your amp on 10…. on 10! Screw turning your amp to 11, you just got 10 + 10, so dive in and enjoy it. So many cool things to talk about here. Jackson Ampworks’ Brad & Juan have partnered with Nigel Hendroff to create Jackson Audio and bring us the Prism. 3 individual boost settings; Trans (no color, just your tone bigger and better), Amp (all that vacuum tube amp goodness - mosfet), and Color (the color sound that started it all - silicon) that are completely separate circuits and won’t dirty each other for the finest in tone shaping. The Prism’s multicolor LED changes with the turn of the Boost knob making it easy to remember and recall that last setting or to see how much boost you’re running from the other side of the stage. If you have never played with a true preamp pedal you are missing out on a big secret to the tone of almost every major player of the last 6 decades
Jam Pedals Ripply Fall
What’s better that one pedal? Two pedals in one box! The Ripply Fall from JAM Pedals comes to us from Greece and combines two of our favorite pedals into one box, the Waterfall Chorus and the Ripple Phaser. On their own, the Waterfall and the Ripple are two power house modulation units that put a healthy portion of vintage mojo into their modern packages. Can’t talk about JAM without mentioning their artwork and the unique color scheme of their pedal line-up. They also do custom one-off editions that are to die for. Back to the Ripply! Syrupy goodness in the form of chorus or vibrato on the Waterfall (right) side of the pedal. Simplicity is the key here. Two knobs control the movement, Speed and Depth. With the flick of the +/- switch you can adjust the overall intensity of the effect, from rich and smooth to whacked out and trip-y. The Ripple (left) side of the unit is a solid 2-stage phaser. Just like the vintage phaser’s of old, one knob does the trick here. Sweet and swishy, throbbing and undulating. The Ripply Fall captures all the tone dripping vintage movement your could ever need on your guitar's tone.
Matthews Effects Astronomer V2
Matthews Effects, we love this pedal. So much ground one can cover when it comes to the space and decay that this Dual Shimmer Reverb unit contains. Three simple knobs make it easy to dial in this reverb pedal. Mass - A blend of dry (counter-clockwise) and wet (clockwise). Glow - adds your “shimmer” or amount of octave effect. Travel - your time… your space… your decay. The Astronomer V2 has three reverb types to choose from; Ursa (dark chamber/octave), Orion (hall/shimmer from original Astronomer) and Canis (swelling/droning EchoVerb). A great feature about the Astronomer, and most of Rick’s other tone tools, is that once you get your setting dialed in, you get to do it all over again with a second row of knobs!!!! Remember, this is a Dual Shimmer Delay, Two independent settings allow you to create two totally different dimensions.
Some many tone-tools out there to be discovered and so many cool builders, from all over the world, behind their’ creation. Read about something today that needs to be on your board? Want to make sure all your questions are answered? Jump on chat and ask for Michael or email sales@rogueguitarshop.com, we will get you what you need. Until next time, rock on & keep pursuing tone!